What it Means to be a Hufflepuff
by purple-stargate
Summary: It's after the War, and Hogwarts still thinks that Hufflepuff is made up of leftovers and losers. When Cassie Frasier is sorted into Hufflepuff, she agrees. But soon she learns that Hufflepuff is a whole lot more than that. Will Cassie and her House be able to prove that Hufflepuffs aren't just a bunch of duffers? T to be safe.


A/N: Ok, so there is way too much Hufflepuff hate out there. I'm a Hufflepuff and I thought the Hufflepuffs needed a bit more love. :) This will have mostly/all OCs and there won't be many if any canon characters. This takes place a few years before the DH epilogue. (Around 2013)

* * *

Grandma smiled as she swept me into a hug. "You have to write." she insisted, letting me down. "And I don't care if you hate writing letters, everyone needs to know how to write them." she said, restating the first line of the lecture I had heard a hundred times.

"Don't worry, we will!" Alex interrupted from behind me. "Cassie already promised, didn't you, Cassie?"

"Uh-huh..." I mumbled. "I promise we'll write. Alex can do most of the writing."

"Now Cassandra, I want individual letters from you. None of this silly 'letter sharing.'" My grandmother scolded, as she moved forward to give Alex a hug as well. "Now remember, no matter what Colby says, we don't care what house you both are in." she said, shooting a glare at Colby, my older brother.

Colby shrugged. "Just don't be a Gryffindork and you'll be fine. But you two aren't dorky enough for that anyway."

Alex rolled her eyes. "Thanks Colby. See you at Christmas. C'mon Cassie, we're going to miss the train. We have, like, two minutes." With that Alex grabbed my hand and pulled me up the into one of the train cars.

* * *

Since we'd gotten onto the train a bit later than most, many of the other students had already found their compartments. We managed to find one with only two other students towards the end of the car. "Hello! I'm Alex and this is my sister Cassie. Mind if we sit here?" Alex said brightly as she pulled me into the compartment.

"Yeah, sure..." mumbled a blonde girl sitting by the window, who was reading the _Daily Prophet._

A few minutes later the train pulled out of the station. Alex pulled out a book and began to read, while the brown-haired girl sitting across from me started playing with a kitten she had taken out of a carrier next to her feet.

After about only ten minutes, the girl put her cat away and looked up. "First years too?" When I nodded, she grinned. "What house are you hoping for, then? I just know I'll be in Ravenclaw. All my friends say I'm the smartest person they've met." she said, with an excited glint in her eye. "I can't believe I'm going to Hogwarts already! Can you?"

I almost jumped. People never talked to me, they always talked to Alex first. "Uhh...Ravenclaw, I think. I mean, my parents were in Slytherin but I don't think I have that much Slytherin in me."

She nodded knowingly. "Oh, so you're smart, then? I'll be top of our year, but you might be able to come in second. If you're very, very smart, that is."

The girl next to her put down the _Daily Prophet_ and stared at her. "Seriously? Why do you think you're so much smarter than everyone else?"

She sniffed. "_My _father was the Minister of Magic. He taught me everything he knows. I'm going to be Minister of Magic someday, too. With my genius, no one will even be able to compete." she said with a nod. "Anyways, I didn't introduce myself, did I?" The blonde girl snickered at this, but the other girl ignored her. "Anyways, I'm Serena Fudge." Serena said, holding out her hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"Er, you to..." I said, leaning forward to shake her hand. I was saved from having to figure out what to say next when the blonde girl interrupted.

"Your father was _sacked, _wasn't he? And you should know that the Minister of Magic position isn't _inherited._" she said, glaring at Serena. "The only reason-"

This sounded like it could be a long argument so I stopped listening and peered over Alex's shoulder. She was reading the Anatomy book she had gotten from a Muggle bookstore a few weeks ago. ("Anatomy doesn't _change_, you know!" she'd snapped when Colby had laughed.) I sighed and stared off into space. I'd stupidly left all my books in my trunk, forgetting that I would need things to _do _during the train ride. (I could be rather forgetful sometimes)

* * *

It was dark when we finally pulled into the station outside Hogwarts. After about half an hour Serena and the other girl, whose name had turned out to be Sharon, had finally stopped arguing. Alex had also finished her Anatomy book for the third time, and had soon gotten into a lively discussion with Sharon about potions. I'd quickly asked to borrow her _Daily Prophet _and had read it for the rest of the ride.

I stuck close to Alex as we stepped off the train and into the cold. I'd also forgotten to take my cloak out of my trunk, so I just pulled my robes closer around me as we edged closer to the huge man crying "Firs' Years over here! Firs' Years!" and holding a lantern.

Once we finally got through the crowd, the man (whose name turned out to be Hagrid), led us to some small boats docked on the edge of the lake. "Three ter a boat now, don' slip..." Hagrid said as he got into the biggest boat all by himself.

Naturally, Alex and I shared a boat, and it was when we started across the lake when I got my first real look at Hogwarts. Even after all I'd heard about it, it was still much more amazing than I had imagined.

Alex audibly gasped next to me. "Woah..." she murmured.

I grinned. Alex was rarely surprised.

* * *

After Professor Slughorn's speech about Houses and Sorting, I was starting to get nervous. "Don't worry, think of it this way." Alex told me after Professor Slughorn had left. "Twins normally get sorted into the same house. I'll go first, so after I get sorted you won't have to worry any more." That didn't particularly help. I bit my lip nervously as Professor Slughorn came back and led us into the Great Hall.

Once we were all in the hall, and the doors had closed behind us, the Sorting Hat began its song. Colby had described the sorting ceremony in great detail, and had also told us not to listen to the song because it "overrated Gryffindor". He insisted they had a nastier side that no one ever bothered to mention. I hadn't pointed out that maybe the Gryffindors were just nasty to the Slytherins, and they were nice the rest of the time.

By the time I had stopped thinking about this, the Hat was finishing the final notes of his song. I started shifting nervously as Professor Slughorn took out a scroll.

"Abernathy, Leonard!"

There was a pause. I didn't even want to think about how long it would seem before they got to 'F'.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" Shouted the Hat, to tremendous applause from the entire hall.

"Abbott, Olivia!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Black, Jeffery!"

Murmurs exploded through the entire hall. _As in Sirius Black? _Someone behind me whispered to his friend that Jeffery Black was actually Muggleborn.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Callen, Tara!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The list went on and on for what seemed like forever, even though only four or so more students had actually been sorted. Finally, Slughorn called out the name I was listening for.

"Frasier, Alexandra!"

Alex walked confidently up to the stool and carefully placed the hat on her head. She only sat there for the better part of ten seconds before the hat cried,

"SLYTHERIN!"

The whole Slytherin table stood up and clapped while Alex walked over and sat next to the only other Slytherin first year.

I knew what was coming next.

"Frasier, Cassandra!" My name rang through the hall. I shakily approached the stool, willing myself not to fall. I didn't feel nearly as confident as Alex had looked.

_Another Frasier, hmmm? _I almost jumped. I had known the Hat talked but I hadn't quite been expecting that. _Very different from your sister, yes...there are only two places I could possibly put you...there's a lot of loyalty, oh yes, to yourself as well as your family and friends...impartialness...hmm...and you value honesty and trust above almost all else...you can be hard working, but smart too...Ravenclaw perhaps? No, not quite studious enough for that...no...there's only one place where you would really fit in..._

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

I was in shock. _Hufflepuff? _I hadn't even considered that I'd end up _there_. Colby's description of the house had been "a bunch of duffers, really, and not all that smart. They always come in last for the House Cup. But you're smart. You'd never end up _there. _Anyone who could be put in Hufflepuff but is vaguely smart goes to Ravenclaw..." I shakily handed the hat back to Professor Slughorn (who was beaming) and walked to the Hufflepuff table.

"Welcome to Hufflepuff!" said a Hufflepuff prefect happily as I sat down. "I'm Rory."

"Hi..." I mumbled, just in time to see Selena Fudge come up to the stool and sit down. The Hat almost immediatly cried "SLYTHERIN" when it touched her head. So much for Ravenclaw. The other girl from the train, Sharon Gilbert, came only one name later. The hat wasted no time putting her in Ravenclaw.

I looked away from the sorting and stared down at my golden plate. How was I in Hufflepuff? I wasn't a stupid leftover loser, was I? The Hat _had _considered me for Ravenclaw, but apparently I wasn't studious enough. It might as well have said that I wasn't smart enough. Colby (along with me and everyone else) hadn't even considered that I'd be placed in Hufflepuff...would he consider that the same as me being a Gryffindork? Would he even talk to me after this? I hoped Grandma wouldn't mind, but she was in Ravenclaw. Would she be happy with a stupid duffer for a granddaughter?

I was so worried that the girl next to me had to elbow me when the Feast started. "Off in your own little world, aren't you?" she asked with a smile as she heaped her plate full of broccoli and peas. I mechanically reached for the mashed potatoes and dumped a large amount of them on my plate. I had just started eating when I was interrupted by Rory.

"You can't have _just _potatoes! Here, have some vegetables. And chicken. And pumpkin juice." he said, dumping the vegetables and chicken on my plate and pushing a glass of pumpkin juice at me.

"Uh...thanks..." I mumbled. He sounded just like my Grandma: she was always pushing food at me too. ("You're too skinny!") She would have been proud.

* * *

After dinner (and desert), I had learned the names of all my dorm mates (Kattie, Lenna, Vivian and Danielle) and Rory led all the first years to the Common Room and showed us all how to tap it correctly to get in. ("Pay attention, otherwise you'll get soaked with vinegar. And don't tell anyone how to get in.") Then we got a long speech about how Hufflepuff wasn't as bad as everyone seemed to think it was (I wasn't really listening; I didn't think Colby or even Grandma would care if I tried to explain it to them), and were finally sent off to bed.

I didn't even bother starting a letter home; Alex would tell them everything anyway. I stared up at the ceiling worrying about my family and even what Alex would think before I finally fell asleep.


End file.
